Games from Recent Events

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Games from Recent Events

January 8, 2018

https://en.chessbase.com/post/which-...best-game-2017

ChessBase has a poll for the top game of 2017. These are the contenders. The list goes from the most popular to the least.

Bai-Ding 0-1 CHN chT x
Aronian-Carlsen 1-0 Norway Chess x
Wagner-Nikolic 1-0 SchachBundesliga
Anand-Caruana 1-0 Sinquefield x
Kramnik-Harikrishna 1-0 Gashimov Memorial x
Morozevich-Ponomariov 1-0 Biel x
Caruana-Carlsen 0-1 IofM x
Xiong-So 0-1 USA Ch x
Aronian-Naiditsch 1-0 GRENKE Classic x
Rapport-Wei 0-1 Tata SteelA

Eight of the ten games have been given on this forum in the write-ups of the various tournaments. These are marked with an x.

The two not given before:

Bundesliga 2016-17
Solingen, Germany
Round 9, March 18, 2017
Wagner, Dennis – Nicolic, Predrag
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 h6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.e3 Bf5 9.Ne2 O-O 10.g4 Bh7 11.h4 Ne8 12.Nf4 Nc6 13.g5 hxg5 14.hxg5 Qxg5 15.Ra2 Qd8 16.Rah2 Nf6 17.Qc2 g6 18.Rxh7 Nxh7 19.Qh2 Re8 20.Qxh7+ Kf8 21.Qh6+ Ke7 22.Qg5+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 14th move:



- What a position! After only 14 moves the second rank is completely free of white pawns

See:

http://schachbundesliga.de/bundeslig...-saison-201617


Tata Steel Masters 2017
Round 6, Jan. 20, 2017
Rapport, Richard – Wei, Yi
C42 Petrov, Paulsen Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nc4 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Ne3 Be6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.g3 Nc6 9.Bg2 Qd7 10.b4 d5 11.b5 Nd4 12.Qd3 c5 13.O-O O-O-O 14.Re1 h5 15.h4 g5 16.b6 a6 17.hxg5 Ng4 18.Ncxd5 h4 19.Nc7 h3 20.Bxb7+ Kxb7 21.Qxa6+ Kc6 22.Nxg4 Bxg4 23.b7+ Kxc7 24.Qa5+ Kb8 25.Qa8+ Kc7 26.Qa5+ Kd6 27.Qb6+ Kd5 28.Re3 h2+ 29.Kh1 Qc6 30.Rb1 Qxb6 31.Rxb6 Bd6 32.Bb2 Rde8 0-1

Position after Black’s 32nd move:



- haha king on d5. Lovely
- and white has no pieces to attack this crazy king

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Games from Recent Events

February 8, 2018

The PRO Chess League season is in full swing.

In the fifth round, all talk is of Awonder Liang beating both Nakamura and Caruana within a short span of time:

PRO Chess League
Seattle Sluggers vs Pittsburgh Pawngrabbers
Round 4, Feb. 3, 2018
Nakamura, Hikaru - Liang, Awonder
A05 Reti, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 g6 3.Bb2 Bg7 4.d4 O-O 5.e3 b6 6.Be2 Bb7 7.O-O d6 8.c4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 c5 10.Rd1 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Rc8 12.Nc3 a6 13.Rac1 Rc7 14.Bf3 Qa8 15.Bxb7 Qxb7 16.Qe2 Rfc8 17.e4 e6 18.Ba3 Nc5 19.Bxc5 Rxc5 20.Qe3 d5 21.cxd5 exd5 22.exd5 Nxd5 23.Nxd5 Qxd5 24.Nf3 Rxc1 25.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 26.Qxc1 Qa5 27.Qc2 Bf6 28.g3 Kg7 29.Kg2 Qb4 30.Nd2 Qd4 31.Ne4 Qd5 32.f3 Qd4 33.Qd2 Qxd2+ 34.Nxd2 Bc3 35.Ne4 Bb4 36.f4 f5 37.Ng5 h6 38.Nf3 Kf6 39.Kf1 g5 40.fxg5+ hxg5 41.h4 g4 42.Nd4 Bc5 43.Ne2 Be3 44.Nc3 Ke5 45.Ke2 Bd4 46.Nb1 f4 47.gxf4+ Kxf4 48.Nd2 Be3 49.Nc4 Bc5 50.Nd2 g3 51.Kf1 Bb4 52.Nc4 b5 53.Nb2 Kf3 54.Nd3 Bc3 0-1

Final Position Nakamura-Liang



PRO Chess League
Pittsburgh Pawngrabbers vs Saint Louis Arch Bishops
Round 5, Feb. 7, 2018
Liang, Awonder - Caruana, Fabiano
C96 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Keres Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.d5 Nb6 13.Nbd2 Bd7 14.b3 c4 15.Nf1 Nb7 16.Be3 cxb3 17.axb3 a5 18.Bd3 a4 19.b4 Rc8 20.Qe2 Nc4 21.Bc1 Qe8 22.N3d2 Nb6 23.Nb1 f5 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Bxb5 Qg6 26.Be3 Nxd5 27.Ng3 Bxb1 28.Bc4 Be4 29.Qa2 Kh8 30.Bxd5 Bxd5 31.Qxd5 Nd8 32.Rxa4 Ne6 33.b5 Rxc3 34.b6 Rd3 35.Qb5 Qe8 36.Qxe8 Rxe8 37.Rb1 Nc5 38.Ra7 d5 39.b7 Nxb7 40.Rbxb7 Bf8 41.Nf5 d4 42.Bg5 e4 43.Nxg7 Rd1+ 44.Kh2 Bd6+ 45.g3 Rf8 46.Rf7 Rxf7 47.Rxf7 Kg8 48.Rd7 e3 49.Nh5 Be5 50.fxe3 d3 51.Nf6+ Bxf6 52.Bxf6 Rf1 53.Bg5 Rf2+ 54.Kg1 1-0

Final Position Liang-Caruana



See:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/lian...ss-upsets-2439

"Really impressive is Awonder Liang who is in second place on our leaderboard based on game points and performance rating. Still just 14 years old, Liang bested Fabiano Caruana yesterday and Hikaru Nakamura on Saturday. He's also won game of the week once and come in second once."

His performance rating on 24 games is 2740. Actual ELO 2545.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Awonder Liang keeps moving forward. Great news!

[Hans Jung]

Re: Games from Recent Events

I really enjoyed the Nakamura - Liang game. Clear strategy and great endgame play. (bishop over knight and active king)

[Hans Jung]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Awonder Liang - Fab Fabiano Again clear strategy. Work a pin, pushed a passed pawn, won a piece and then Nh5! (threatening checkmate in two). Nice.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Games from Recent Events

April 10, 2018

China vs The World

From ChessBase.com

"The Arcadia hotel in the Chinese city of Liaocheng is playing host to a match between the Chinese National team and five representatives from the rest of the world from the 7th to the 9th of April 7, 2018. Of the ten rounds of the match, the first six were played on the 7th of April while the remaining four will be played on April 9. April 8 is reserved for a chess seminar. The match uses the Scheveningen system wherein each player plays all of the players of the opposing team twice. The time control for the games is 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move from move one.

Liaocheng is about 400 kilometres south of Bejing."

https://en.chessbase.com/post/china-vs-the-world

The combatants and their final point scores:

China

Ding Liren 6.5
Yu Yangyi 7
Bu Xiangzhi 6.5
Wei Yi 5.5
Li Chao 4.5

Rest of the World

Jan-Krzysztof Duda 4.5
Etienne Bacrot 2.5
Daniil Dubov 5.5
Vidit Gujrathi 4.5
Samuel Shankland 3

Perhaps a bit unfairly, I have chosen three games of Daniil Dubov to show. Two of them are against Wei Yi, the other against Ding Liren.

China vs The Rest of the World
Liaocheng, China
Round 1,
Dubov, Daniil - Wei Yi
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 b6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.Be2 Bd6 8.O-O O-O 9.b3 Bb7 10.Bb2 Nbd7 11.Rc1 Re8 12.Re1 Rc8 13.Bf1 Qe7 14.g3 Ba3 15.Bxa3 Qxa3 16.Bh3 Qd6 17.d4 Rcd8 18.Nd2 g6 19.Bg2 Kg7 20.Qc2 Nf8 21.Qb2 Ne6 22.b4 h5 23.h4 Qe7 24.b5 c5 25.Nf3 cxd4 26.exd4 Ne4 27.Ne5 Qf6 28.Nc6 Bxc6 29.bxc6 Qxd4 30.Bxe4 dxe4 31.Rxe4 Qf6 32.Rce1 Kg8 33.Re5 Qg7 34.Ne4 Rd5 35.Ng5 Rxe5 36.Rxe5 Rc8 37.Nxe6 fxe6 38.Qe2 Rxc6 39.Qe4 Rc4 40.Qe3 Rc6 41.Rg5 e5 42.Rxe5 Rf6 43.Re7 Rf7 44.Qe6 Qf6 45.Qxf6 Rxf6 46.Rxa7 b5 47.Ra3 b4 48.Rb3 Ra6 49.Rb2 Kf7 50.Kf1 Kf6 51.Ke2 Ra3 52.Kd2 Kf5 53.Kc1 Rc3+ 54.Rc2 Rf3 55.Rb2 Ke5 56.Rxb4 Rxf2 57.a4 Ra2 58.Kb1 Ra3 59.g4 hxg4 60.Rxg4 Kd5 61.Kb2 Rh3 62.a5 Kc5 63.a6 Rh2+ 64.Kb3 Kb5 65.Ra4 Rh3+ 66.Kb2 Rh2+ 67.Kc1 Rh1+ 68.Kd2 Rh2+ 69.Ke3 1-0

Round 6,
Wei Yi - Dubov, Daniil
B07 Pirc-Robatsch

1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bd3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.c3 Nc6 7.h3 e5 8.Re1 Re8 9.Na3 b6 10.Nc2 Bb7 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bd2 Qe7 13.b4 Qf8 14.d5 Ne7 15.c4 Nd7 16.a4 f5 17.a5 Nf6 18.b5 f4 19.Nb4 g5 20.Nc6 Ng6 21.Bc3 Qf7 22.Kf1 Nf8 23.Nfxe5 dxe5 24.Nxe5 Rxe5 25.Bxe5 Re8 26.Bd4 N6d7 27.Bc2 f3 28.Ra3 fxg2+ 29.Kxg2 Ng6 30.Bxg7 Qxg7 31.Kg1 Nde5 32.axb6 axb6 33.d6 Rf8 34.c5 bxc5 35.dxc7 Qxc7 36.Rc3 c4 37.Ree3 Qc5 38.Qh5 Kg7 39.h4 g4 0-1

Round 9,
Dubov, Daniil - Ding Liren
kB48 Sicilian, Taimanov variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.O-O Ne5 9.h3 Bc5 10.Qe2 d6 11.Rad1 O-O 12.f4 Ng6 13.f5 Ne5 14.g4 h6 15.Nf3 exf5 16.Nxe5 dxe5 17.gxf5 b5 18.Kh2 Bb7 19.Rg1 Kh7 20.Rg3 Rg8 21.Rdg1 b4 22.Na4 Bxe3 23.Qxe3 a5 24.b3 Rad8 25.R1g2 Rd4 26.Qg1 Nh5 27.Rg4 Qd6 28.Nb2 Qf6 29.Nc4 Nf4 30.Qxd4 exd4 31.Rxf4 Qd8 32.Rg3 Ba6 33.e5 Bxc4 34.bxc4 Kh8 35.Kg2 Re8 36.Re4 Qd7 37.Rf3 Kg8 38.h4 a4 39.Kf2 Qc7 40.e6 Qh2+ 41.Kf1 Kf8 42.c5 Ke7 43.f6+ gxf6 44.exf7+ Kxf7 45.Bc4+ Kf8 46.Rxf6+ Kg7 47.Rf7+ Kg6 48.Rxe8 Qh3+ 49.Ke2 Qg2+ 50.Rf2 Qg4+ 51.Kd2 1-0

See also:

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2018-china-vs-world

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Games from Recent Events

May 25, 2018

A Star-Studded Baden-Baden Wins Bundesliga

Peter Doggers at:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/star...ins-bundesliga

“Despite bringing top players Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vishy Anand, the team of Baden-Baden scored only a narrow 4.5-3.5 victory against Solingen to clinch its 12th Bundesliga title in 13 years.

The playoff between Baden-Baden and Solingen, yesterday in the Kulturhaus LA8 in Baden-Baden, Germany was necessary as the two teams had tied for first place after the 15 rounds this season.

Anish Giri played on top board and beat Fabiano Caruana.

In this Petroff, the opening that was so successful for Caruana at the Candidates', Giri got a tiny edge that got more serious when he managed to get g3-g4 in, on move 32.

"Allowing g4! is the moment when the position turned from easier to play/very slightly better to difficult for Black. I felt gxh5 helped me a lot," Giri told Chess.com. "But I imagine it's good anyway. I didn't analyze deeply yet. After the time control it must be winning, after 40...Qf8 41.Kf3."

With this win, Giri passed Wesley So and moved up to world number eight in the live ratings.

By the time Giri had won this game, it didn't matter much anymore. Baden-Baden had scored two wins already, for both Svidler and Kasimdzhanov.

Baden-Baden won the match 4.5-3.5 and its 12th Bundesliga title.”

Bundesliga TB 2017-18
Germany
Playoff, May 24, 2018
Solingen – Baden Baden
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack, Marshall variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Bf5 12.Bg5 Qa5 13.Nh4 Be6 14.Bxe6 Qxg5 15.Nf3 Qd8 16.Bb3 Nd7 17.Re1 g6 18.g3 Kg7 19.Qd3 Nf6 20.Rad1 Rc8 21.h4 Rc7 22.Kg2 Re7 23.Rxe7 Qxe7 24.Re1 Qd7 25.Ne5 Bxe5 26.Rxe5 Re8 27.Qe2 h5 28.f3 Kf8 29.Rxe8+ Nxe8 30.Qe5 Nd6 31.Kf2 Kg8 32.g4 hxg4 33.fxg4 Qd8 34.Kf3 Kh7 35.h5 f6 36.Qe6 Kg7 37.Kf4 a5 38.a3 gxh5 39.gxh5 Kh6 40.Bc2 Qf8 41.Kf3 Ne8 42.Kg2 Nd6 43.Kf2 b6 44.Kf3 Ne8 45.Qxc6 Nd6 46.Qxb6 Qe7 47.Qb8 Nf7 48.Qg8 Ng5+ 49.Kf4 Nh3+ 50.Kf5 Qd7+ 51.Kxf6 1-0

Position after Black’s 31…Kg8





- Fabi´s Knight flapped like an injured bird in the end, while Giri´s Queen gobbled up the pawns.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Games from Recent Events

May 26, 2018

Ding Liren on a Tear

From chessbase.com:

https://en.chessbase.com/post/chinese-league-2018-ding

"Rounds five through seven of the Chinese League were held in Shenzhen this week. The team from Shanghai currently leads the league, but the performance of Ding Liren (who plays for Zheijang) has attracted attention. He has had a strong showing, winning all five of his games so far, and by beating Ivan Cheparinov in the seventh round he nudged up past Vladimir Kramnik to the fourth spot in the world rankings and is less than three Elo points shy of 2800.

For the first time in the history of chess, the best Chinese player in the world ranking is ahead of the best Russian. Ding's three wins this week earned him 6½ Elo points, moving him to 2797.5 and past Vladimir Kramnik in the live rankings. He is now number four in the world ranking behind Carlsen, Caruana and Mamedyarov.

Ding rarely loses games nowadays. According to the live database he has lost just one of 34 games (all time controls) this year, and only in rapid chess — in the friendly match China versus Russia, against Dubov. His last loss in a classical game dates back last September's World Cup final, when he lost to Levon Aronian."

2700 Chess – Ding is unbeaten for 288 games in classical chess.

Five recent games:

Chinese Chess League
Round 1, April 11, 2018
Ding Liren (2778) – Ma Qun (2645)
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Be6 7.Nb3 Bd6 8.Na5 Rb8 9.O-O O-O 10.b3 Qe7 11.a4 Bb4 12.Nc4 Bxc4 13.bxc4 Nd7 14.Bg5 f6 15.Be3 Bc5 16.Nh4 Bxe3 17.fxe3 g6 18.Qg4 Rbe8 19.Rf3 Qe6 20.Qg3 Kf7 21.a5 b5 22.axb6 axb6 23.Ra7 Qd6 24.Qh3 Ke7 25.Rf1 Ra8 26.Rxa8 Rxa8 27.Nf3 h5 28.Qg3 g5 29.Qf2 Qe6 30.d4 c5 31.d5 Qg8 32.h4 gxh4 33.Nxh4 Ra2 34.Nf5+ Kd8 35.Qd2 Ra3 36.Rf3 h4 37.Rh3 Ra4 38.Rxh4 Rxc4 39.d6 cxd6 40.Nxd6 Ra4 41.Rh8 1-0

Final position (after Ding’s 41.Rh8)



Round 2, April 12, 2018
Liu Guanchu (2459) – Ding Liren (2778)
C47 Four Knights, Scotch variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O Re8 9.Qf3 Rb8 10.Bg5 Bd6 11.Rab1 Be5 12.Bf4 d5 13.Bxe5 Rxe5 14.Qg3 Re6 15.exd5 cxd5 16.Nb5 Rb7 17.Nd4 Reb6 18.b3 c5 19.Nf5 g6 20.Rbd1 Nh5 21.Qh4 Qxh4 22.Nxh4 Nf4 23.Rfe1 Bg4 24.f3 Be6 25.g3 Nxd3 26.Rxd3 c4 27.Rd4 Ra6 0-1

Round 5, May 22, 2018
Ding Liren (2791) – Zeng Chongsheng (2540)
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Qb6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Ng6 9.c4 Be7 10.Nc3 d6 11.Rb1 O-O 12.b4 Bf6 13.Be3 Qc7 14.Qd2 a5 15.b5 Bxc3 16.Qxc3 cxb5 17.Rxb5 Ne5 18.Be2 Bd7 19.Rb2 Rfc8 20.Rc1 Bc6 21.f3 Rab8 22.c5 Rxb2 23.Qxb2 d5 24.exd5 exd5 25.Bd4 f6 26.Qb6 Nd7 27.Qxc7 Rxc7 28.Rb1 Kf7 29.f4 Rb7 30.Rb3 Rb4 31.Rxb4 axb4 32.Kf2 Ba4 33.Ke3 g6 34.g4 f5 35.gxf5 gxf5 36.Ba6 Ke6 37.Bc8 Bc6 38.Be5 Ke7 39.Kd4 Kd8 40.Ba6 Nf8 41.Bd6 Ng6 42.Bd3 Nh4 43.Be2 Ng6 44.Bf3 Kd7 45.Bxd5 Nh4 46.Bxc6+ Kxc6 47.Ke5 Nf3+ 48.Kxf5 Nxh2 49.Kg5 Kd5 50.Kh6 Nf3 51.Kxh7 Nh4 52.Kh6 Ke6 53.Kh5 Nf5 54.Kg5 Nd4 55.Kg6 Nf5 56.Be5 Ne7+ 57.Kg5 Nc6 58.Bg7 Ne7 59.Bf8 Nf5 60.c6 Nd4 61.c7 Kd7 62.Bd6 Ne6+ 63.Kg6 Nd4 64.f5 Nc6 65.f6 1-0

Round 6, May 23, 2018
Lin Yi (2365) – Ding Liren (2791)
E12 Queen’s Indian Accelerated, Petrosian System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.e3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bd6 9.Bd3 O-O 10.O-O c5 11.e4 Nc6 12.Be3 Rc8 13.Qe2 Na5 14.Ng5 Be7 15.Nxh7 c4 16.Bc2 Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.e5 f5 19.exf6 Rxf6 20.Qh7+ Kf7 21.Qh5+ g6 22.Qh7+ Ke8 23.Bxg6+ Kd7 24.Be4 Qg8 25.Qxg8 Rxg8 26.Bxb7 Nxb7 27.a4 Nd6 28.a5 b5 29.a6 Nf5 30.Rfb1 Nxe3 31.fxe3 Kc6 32.Ra2 Rg4 33.Rab2 Rf5 34.h3 Re4 35.g4 Rf3 36.Rxb5 Rexe3 37.Rb7 Bh4 38.Rxa7 Rg3+ 39.Kf1 Ref3+ 40.Ke2 Rxh3 41.Rf1 Re3+ 0-1

Round 7, May 24, 2018
Ding Liren (2791) – Cheparinov, Ivan (2705)
A14 English, Neo-Catalan declined

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.d4 Bf6 11.Bb2 Bg4 12.Ne5 Bxe5 13.dxe5 d4 14.Qc2 Qe7 15.f4 Rac8 16.Rae1 Nb4 17.Qb1 g6 18.a3 Bf5 19.e4 dxe3 20.Be4 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 Nc6 22.Rxe3 Nd4 23.g4 f5 24.exf6 Qxe4 25.Rxe4 Rxf6 26.Rd1 Rd6 27.Kf2 Rcd8 28.Re7 Rf8 29.Ke3 Nc2+ 30.Ke2 Nd4+ 31.Bxd4 cxd4 32.Rc1 Rc6 33.Rc4 Rxf4 34.Rxb7 Rxc4 35.bxc4 Kf8 36.Rxa7 h5 37.gxh5 gxh5 38.a4 Rh4 39.Kd3 Rxh2 40.a5 Ra2 41.c5 Ke8 42.Kxd4 h4 43.Kd5 h3 44.Kc6 h2 45.Rh7 Kd8 46.Rh8+ Ke7 47.Kb6 Rb2+ 48.Kc7 Ra2 49.c6 1-0

_________

See also GM Greg Serper's article: The Upredictable Ding Liren at:


https://www.chess.com/article/view/t...ble-ding-liren

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Games from Recent Events

June 3, 2018

Two more games from the distant past. The excuse for giving them is that they figured in today’s commentary for Round 5 of the Altibox Norway Chess Tournament 2018.

https://forum.chesstalk.com/showthre...ox-Norway-2018

One is the King’s Gambit Accepted game which is the basis for the opening match in the film “To Russia with Love”. The other is the draw for the 1948 USSR Championship that was used in the Russian movie “Grossmeister”.

USSR Championship 1948
Moscow, URS
Round 7, Nov. 21, 1948
Alatortsev, Vladimir – Kholmov, Ratmir
D06 QGD, Grau

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Qb3 Nc6 5.c5 Qc8 6.Bf4 Nf6 7.Qa4 Nd7 8.e3 a6 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.Rc1 O-O 11.Bg3 Bf6 12.Nh4 Bxh4 13.Bxh4 e5 14.Nb3 Re8 15.Bg3 exd4 16.Nxd4 Re4 17.Be2 Nxd4 18.exd4 Qe8 19.Qd1 Qe7 20.f3 Re6 21.Kf2 Re8 22.Re1 Qg5 23.Bxc7 h5 24.Ba5 Bh3 25.Bf1 Rxe1 26.Bxe1 Qe3+ 27.Kg3 Bf5 28.h4 Re4 29.Qd2 Rg4+ 30.Kh2 Rxh4+ 31.Kg3 Qe7 32.Kf2 Rh1 33.Qf4 Bg6 34.Bd2 Nf8 35.Re1 Ne6 36.Qb8+ Kh7 37.Bc3 Qg5 38.Qg3 Qf5 39.Qe5 Qc2+ 40.Qe2 Qxe2+ 41.Bxe2 Rxe1 42.Kxe1 Nf4 43.Bf1 Bd3 44.Bxd3+ Nxd3+ 45.Kf1 Nf4 46.a4 Kg6 47.b4 Kf6 48.Bd2 Ne6 49.Be3 g5 50.Ke2 Ke7 51.Kd3 f5 52.g3 Kd7 53.b5 axb5 54.axb5 h4 55.gxh4 gxh4 56.Bg1 h3 57.b6 f4 58.Bh2 Kc6 59.Bg1 Ng7 60.Bh2 Nh5 61.Ke2 Ng7 62.Kd3 Ne6 63.Bg1 Nf8 64.Bh2 Ng6 65.Ke2 Kb5 66.Kf2 Ka5 67.Kf1 Ka6 68.Ke2 Kb5 69.Kf2 1/2-1/2

Notes from the Kibitzer’s Corner

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1240246

Feb-06-09 Maynard5: Not just another hard-fought draw! This is one of the more bizarre games in the entire database. Alatortsev's choice of an opening line can only be described as eccentric, if not reckless, and Kholmov gets an excellent game from it. From about moves 16-32, White is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. Somehow, the defense holds, and the position eventually simplifies to an endgame where neither side can make any progress. White's bishop must block the black pawn on the h-file, while Black's knight must guard the pawn on f4, and Black's king cannot abandon the defense of the c6 square.

Dec-12-12 Chessdreamer: Analysis of Vladas Mikenas that made it into the Soviet film Grossmejster (1972).

Position after White's 31st move





1..Qg1!! 2.Kxh4 f6!! 3.Kg3 g5 4.f4 g4 5.Rc3! Nf8!! 6.Qf2 h4+ 7.Kxh4 Ng6+ 8.Kh5 Qh1+ 9.Rh3 gxh3 10.gxh3 Kh7! 11.h4 Qg1! 12.Qxg1 Nxf4#. [Mihail Marin, New In Chess 1/2012]

________

USSR Championship 1960
Leningrad URS
Round 16, Feb. 20, 1960
Spassky, Boris – Bronstein, David
C36 King’s Gambit Accepted, Modern Defence

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Bd6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.d4 O-O 7.Bd3 Nd7 8.O-O h6 9.Ne4 Nxd5 10.c4 Ne3 11.Bxe3 fxe3 12.c5 Be7 13.Bc2 Re8 14.Qd3 e2 15.Nd6 Nf8 16.Nxf7 exf1=Q+ 17.Rxf1 Bf5 18.Qxf5 Qd7 19.Qf4 Bf6 20.N3e5 Qe7 21.Bb3 Bxe5 22.Nxe5+ Kh7 23.Qe4+ 1-0

Final Position




Oct. 20-16 diagonal - The game chosen by the Bond film producers, was that magical masterpieces reminiscent of Boris Spassky's beautiful 23-move victory playing the King’s Gambit against David Bronstein at Leningrad in 1960 in the sixteenth round of the 27th USSR Championship held at the Chigorin Chess Club in Leningrad from January 26th to February 26th, 1960 and won by Viktor Korchnoi, ahead of runners-up Petrosian and Geller.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1034110

[Hans Jung]

Re: Games from Recent Events

Ah yes, beauty in chess. Thanks for the games. However in the Alatortsev - Kholmov game, good luck trying to find that win over the board for Black. Looks like a computer printout of moves.

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

June 25, 2018

From Rocky02 in chess.com News

https://www.chess.com/news/view/prag...n-history-1169

Praggnanandhaa Becomes 2nd Youngest GM In History

“At the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days, Indian prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became the second-youngest grandmaster in chess history. He scored his third grandmaster norm at the fourth Gredine open in Ortisei, Italy.

After a steady start, he was on 5.5/7 and would need 1.0/2 or 1.5/2 from his final two games depending on the rating of his opposition. In round eight, he held the white pieces against the Italian GM Luca Moroni Jr., rated 2549. He won a fine attacking game.

With the third norm and the title already in the bag, Praggnanandhaa, playing Black, finished in style with a fine win over Dutch GM Roeland Pruijssers rated 2514. There was a nice checkmate at the end.

Thanks to this final win, he finished the fourth Gredine open as the joint champion but had to be content with the runner's up spot due to inferior tiebreaks. His performance rating was a massive 2705, 100 points more than the required 2600 for a grandmaster norm.”


Gredine Open
Ortisei-St. Ulrich, Italy
Round 8, June 23, 2018
Praggnanandhaa, R. – Moroni, Luca Jr
C60 Ruy Lopez, Cozio Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.c3 g6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bg7 7.d5 a6 8.Be2 Ne5 9.Nxe5 Bxe5 10.Nc3 d6 11.O-O c5 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Bh6 d5 14.Qd3 Be6 15.f4 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 dxe4 17.Nxe4 Rd8 18.Qa3 Bd4 19.Bg5 c5 20.Nf6+ Bxf6 21.Bxf6 Rg8 22.Rad1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Nd5 24.Bh4 Kf8 25.Bf3 Qb5 26.Bxd5 Bxd5 27.Qe3 g5 28.Bxg5 Qc6 29.Qe7+ Kg7 30.Qe5+ f6 31.Qxd5 Qxd5 32.Rxd5 fxg5 33.Rxg5+ 1-0

Final position




Gredine Open
Ortisei-St. Ulrich, Italy
Round 9, June 24, 2018
Pruijssers, Roeland – Praggnanandhaa, R.
C78 Ruy Lopez, Archangelsk (Counterthrust) variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.c3 Nxe4 8.d4 exd4 9.Re1 d5 10.Ng5 Qf6 11.Bxd5 Qxf2+ 12.Kh1 O-O-O 13.Nxe4 Qf5 14.Bb3 dxc3 15.Qf3 Qxf3 16.gxf3 Ne5 17.Nbxc3 b4 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bf4 bxc3 20.Bxe5 fxe5 21.bxc3 Be7 22.Rab1 Kb8 23.Re2 Ka7 24.Kg2 Rhf8 25.Rd1 Rxd1 26.Bxd1 Rd8 27.Bc2 Bd5 28.Bb3 Bc6 29.Bc2 g6 30.Kg3 a5 31.h4 h6 32.Rh2 Rb8 33.Bb3 a4 34.Bf7 Rb1 35.Rd2 Rg1+ 36.Kh2 Rc1 37.Bxg6 Bxh4 38.Kh3 Be1 39.Rd3 Rc2 40.Re3 Bd7+ 0-1

Final position



http://chess-results.com/tnr353464.aspx?lan=1

http://www.server24chess.com

[Hans Jung]

Lovely two bishop checkmate in the last game.

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

July 6, 2018

The Leon Masters is a 4-player knockout tournament featuring defending champion Wesley So, Spanish no. 1 Francisco Vallejo, 12-year-old GM-elect Praggnanandhaa and local hero Jaime Santos. It takes place from 6-8 July 2018 in Leon, Spain.

Players receive 20 minutes for the entire game, plus a 10-second increment starting from move one. In case of a tie two blitz games (5+3) will be played, and if still tied an Armageddon game.

Official website: elinversorinquieto.es

Praggna has beaten So in the first game!

All the games of their match today:

31^stLeon Masters 2018
Leon, Spain
Round 1, July 6, 2018
So, Wesley – Praggnanandhaa, R.
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.Nb5 Na6 5.e3 e6 6.c4 Be7 7.a3 O-O 8.c5 Ne8 9.b4 c6 10.Nc3 Nb8 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nf3 Nf6 13.Ne5 Nfd7 14.Nxg6 fxg6 15.Bg3 g5 16.Bd3 Bf6 17.h4 gxh4 18.Bd6 e5 19.g5 Bxg5 20.Qh5 e4 21.Nxe4 dxe4 22.Bc4+ Kh8 23.Bxf8 g6 24.Qg4 Nxf8 25.Qxe4 Qe7 26.Qxe7 Bxe7 27.Ke2 g5 28.Rab1 a6 29.d5 cxd5 30.Bxd5 Nc6 31.Rhd1 Rb8 32.Be4 Kg7 33.b5 axb5 34.Rxb5 Na7 35.Rxb7 Rxb7 36.Bxb7 Bxc5 37.a4 Kf6 38.Be4 h6 39.Rd5 Ne6 40.Rf5+ Ke7 41.Bd5 Bd6 42.a5 h3 43.Kf3 h5 44.Bxe6 g4+ 45.Ke4 Kxe6 46.Rxh5 h2 47.Rh6+ Ke7 48.Kd5 Bc7 49.a6 Kf7 50.e4 Kg7 51.Rh5 Kg6 52.Rh8 Kf6 53.Kc5 Kg5 54.Kd4 Bb6+ 55.Kd5 Bxf2 56.Rxh2 g3 57.Rh8 Nb5 58.Rg8+ Kf4 59.Rf8+ Ke3 60.e5 g2 61.Rg8 Kf3 62.Kc6 Bg3 63.e6 g1=Q 64.e7 Nc7 0-1

Final position in game



Round 2, July 6
Praggnanandhaa, R. – So, Wesley
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.a4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.a5 a6 7.Bc4 Bg7 8.d3 O-O 9.O-O Nb8 10.e5 Ne8 11.Nd5 Nc6 12.Nb6 Rb8 13.Nxc8 Rxc8 14.e6 f6 15.Qe1 d5 16.Bb3 Qd6 17.Ra4 Nc7 18.Bf4 Ne5 19.Bxe5 fxe5 20.c4 e4 21.dxe4 d4 22.e5 Qc6 23.Ra3 Nxe6 24.Ba4 Qc7 25.Rb3 Nd8 26.Qe4 Qxa5 27.Bd7 Rb8 28.Qd5+ Kh8 29.Ng5 Qc7 30.f4 b5 31.Rh3 h6 32.Ne6 Nxe6 33.Bxe6 Rb6 34.Rg3 Rd8 0-1

Round 3, July 6
So, Wesley – Praggnanandhaa, R
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.Nc3 Bf5 4.Nb5 Na6 5.e3 e6 6.c4 c6 7.Nc3 Nb4 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nbd5 11.Be5 Nxc3 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.bxc3 Rg8 14.g3 Ba3 15.Rd1 Rd8 16.f3 b5 17.Bd3 b4 18.Bxf5 bxc3 19.Qc2 Rb8 20.Be4 Rb2 21.Bxc6+ Ke7 22.Qa4 Qxa4 23.Bxa4 c2 24.Bxc2 Rxc2 25.Nh3 Bb4+ 26.Kf1 Rgc8 27.Rg1 Rxh2 28.Nf2 Rc2 29.Rg2 Rxg2 30.Kxg2 Bd2 31.Kh3 Bxe3 32.Ng4 Bc1 33.d5 exd5 34.Rxd5 Rxa2 35.Rc5 h5 36.Rxh5 Bb2 37.Rc5 Bd4 38.Rc4 Rd2 39.Nh6 Ke6 40.Kg4 Kd5 41.Ra4 Be3 42.f4 Bb6 43.Kf5 Rd3 44.g4 Rd4 45.Ra6 Bc7 46.Kxf6 Rxf4+ 47.Kg7 Bb6 48.g5 Ke6 49.Ra2 Rf3 50.Re2+ Re3 51.Rg2 Rf3 52.Re2+ Re3 53.Rg2 Rf3 1/2-1/2

Round 4 July 6
Praggnanandhaa, R. – So, Wesley
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 h6 7.h3 d6 8.c3 a5 9.Re1 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Rxe3 Qe8 13.Nbd2 Nh5 14.g3 Qf7 15.Qe2 Rad8 16.Nh4 d5 17.Rf1 Nf6 18.Qd1 d4 19.cxd4 exd4 20.Ree1 g5 21.Ng2 Qh5 22.Qxh5 Nxh5 23.Nc4 Nf6 24.Rc1 Nd7 25.Na3 Nde5 26.Rfd1 Rd7 27.Nc4 Nf3+ 28.Kf1 Rdf7 29.Rc2 Kg7 30.Ne1 Nfe5 31.Nxe5 Nxe5 32.Rdc1 c5 33.Ra1 b6 34.Kg1 h5 35.Kg2 Kf6 36.Ra3 Ke7 37.Rb3 Nd7 38.Re2 Kd6 39.Nc2 Kc6 40.Na3 Ne5 41.Nc4 Nxc4 42.dxc4 g4 43.hxg4 hxg4 44.Rd3 Rh8 45.Rd1 Rfh7 46.Rg1 Rh2+ 47.Kf1 Rf8 48.e5 Rf3 49.Rg2 Rh1+ 50.Rg1 Rxg1+ 51.Kxg1 Rb3 52.Kg2 Rb4 53.f3 Rxc4 54.fxg4 d3 55.Rf2 Rc2 56.Kf3 d2 57.Rxd2 Rxd2 58.g5 Kd5 0-1

Praggna’s rapid rating is 1736 and his standard rating is 2529. He is twelve years old and just got his third grandmaster norm.

Wesley So has a rapid rating of 2852 and a standard rating of 2780 and is twenty-five.

[Wayne Komer]

Games from Recent Events

July 16, 2018

A Wei Yi Brilliancy

Olimpiu G. Urcan, the chess historian, has started a subscription to a chess history service. From a recent one, there is this hitherto unpublished Wei Yi brilliancy.

From Urcan:

“In May 2017, as preparation for a project, I conducted a two-week long email interview with Wei Yi. When I asked him if he could share a noteworthy game of his that has yet to be included in databases or made easily available on the Internet, he wrote back: "Ah...But I don't have many beautiful games." This was two years after his stunning brilliancy against Lázaro Bruzón Batista. Yet he did kindly oblige and in an email exchange dated May 6, 2017, shared the score of a game he played in Group B of the Chinese Championship in Xinghua in June 2009. Wei Yi, who then had just turned 10, made use of a beautiful idea (13.e5!! and 15.Rd1) to slay the Sicilian of an opponent rated 300 rating points above him. It is precisely this kind of energetic play and flawless execution that has brought Wei Yi within striking distance of the world elite.”

Xinghua, Chinese Championship
Group B
Xinghua
June 2009
Wei Yi - Liu Qingnan
B86 Sicilian, Sozin Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 b5 9.f5 Nc5 10.Qf3 Bd7 11.Bg5 b4 12.fxe6 fxe6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Rd1 exd4 16.Qh5+ Ke7 17.Qxc5+ Kf7 18.Qh5+ Ke7 19.Ne4 Qb6 20.O-O Bg7 21.Nc5 Be8 22.Qg4 Bh6 23.Nxe6 Be3+ 24.Kh1 Bg6 25.Nxd4 Bxd4 26.Rxd4 Rhd8 27.Re1+ Kf8 28.Qf4 Kg7 29.Re7+ Kh8 30.Qh6 1-0

[Hans Jung]

Lovely extra digging by Olimpiu Urcan (interviewing Wei Yi). Beautiful game and startling attacking idea of 13.e5!